News Sites Publicize Psychology Research

As seen in PsyPost.org, Social Bites, and other psychology news sites, eye movement research by Robert G. Alexander, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology and counseling, finds that techniques used in a 400-year-old painting could help today’s marketers catch the attention of modern consumers. The study compared the eye movement patterns of viewers gazing at “The Fall of Man” by Peter Paul Rubens, which depicts Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, vs. the original painting created by his predecessor, Titian. Eye movements were recorded using a video-based eye tracker, capturing where and how participants’ gazes moved across the artworks. Ultimately, the findings demonstrate that Rubens’ artistic changes effectively redirected viewers to focus their attention on Eve. 

“While we may never know why Rubens wanted to direct attention towards Eve, our findings show that his critical deviations from Titian’s painting have a powerful effect on oculomotor behavior—techniques that today’s marketers and designers may find useful,” Alexander tells PsyPost.org. “From a psychological standpoint, it also goes to show you that how and where we focus our attention is not just determined by what we see, but also how others want us to see it.”